Proclamation by the President: To Suspend Subchapter IV of Chapter 31 of Title 40, United States Code, Within a Limited Geographic Area in Response to the National Emergency Caused by Hurricane Katrina
A Proclamation by the President of the United States of America

1. Section 3142(a) of title 40, United States Code, provides that "every
contract in excess of $2,000, to which the Federal Government or the
District of Columbia is a party, for construction, alteration, or repair,
including painting and decorating, of public buildings and public works of
the Government or the District of Columbia that are located in a State or
the District of Columbia and which requires or involves the employment of
mechanics or laborers shall contain a provision stating the minimum wages
to be paid various classes or laborers and mechanics."

2. Section 3142(b) of title 40, United States Code, provides that such
"minimum wages shall be based on the wages the Secretary of Labor
determines to be prevailing for the corresponding classes of laborers and
mechanics employed on projects of a character similar to the contract work
in the civil subdivision of the State in which the work is to be performed
. . ."

3. Under various other related acts, the payment of wages is made
dependent upon determinations by the Secretary of Labor under section 3142
of title 40, United States Code.

4. Section 3147 of title 40, United States Code, provides that "[t]he
President may suspend the provisions of this subchapter during a national
emergency."

5. Several areas of the Nation have been recently devastated by Hurricane
Katrina. The devastation from the hurricane has resulted in the largest
amount of property damage from
a natural disaster in the history of the Nation. An enormous but
undetermined number of lives have been lost, and hundreds of thousands of
homes and business establishments either destroyed or severely damaged.
Hundreds of thousands of individuals have lost their jobs and their
livelihood. An unprecedented amount of Federal assistance will be needed
to restore the communities that have been ravaged by the hurricane.
Accordingly, I find that the conditions caused by Hurricane Katrina
constitute a "national emergency" within the meaning of section 3147 of
title 40, United States Code.

(a) Hurricane Katrina has resulted in unprecedented property damage.

(b) The wage rates imposed by section 3142 of title 40, United States
Code, increase the cost to the Federal Government of providing Federal
assistance to these areas.

(c) Suspension of the subchapter IV of chapter 31 of title 40, United
States Code, 40 U.S.C. 3141-3148, and the operation of related acts to the
extent they depend upon the Secretary of Labor's determinations under
section 3142 of title 40, United States Code, will result in greater
assistance to these devastated communities and will permit the employment
of thousands of additional individuals.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of
America, do by this proclamation suspend, as to all contracts entered into
on or after the date of this proclamation and until otherwise provided, the
provisions of subchapter IV of chapter 31 of title 40, United States Code,
40 U.S.C. 3141-3148, and the provisions of all other acts
providing for the payment of wages, which provisions are dependent upon
determinations by the Secretary of Labor under section 3142 of title 40,
United States Code, as they apply to contracts to be performed in the
following jurisdictions: the counties of Baldwin, Choctaw, Clarke, Mobile,
Sumter, and Washington in the State of Alabama; the counties of Broward,
Miami-Dade, and Monroe in the State of Florida; the parishes of Acadia,
Allen, Ascension, Assumption, Avoyelles, Beauregard, Bienville, Bossier,
Caddo, Calcasieu, Caldwell, Cameron, Catahoula, Claiborne, Concordia, De
Soto, East Baton Rouge, East Carroll, East Feliciana, Evangeline, Franklin,
Grant, Iberia, Iberville, Jackson, Jefferson, Jefferson Davis, La Salle,
Lafayette, Lafourche, Lincoln, Livingston, Madison, Morehouse,
Natchitoches, Orleans, Ouachita, Plaquemines, Pointe Coupee, Rapides, Red
River, Richland, Sabine, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. Helena, St. James,
St. John the Baptist, St. Landry, St. Martin, St. Mary, St. Tammany,
Tangipahoa, Tensas, Terrebonne, Union, Vermilion, Vernon, Washington,
Webster, West Baton Rouge, West Carroll, West Feliciana, and Winn in the
State of Louisiana; and the counties of Adams, Alcorn, Amite, Attala,
Benton, Bolivar, Calhoun, Carroll, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Claiborne, Clarke,
Clay, Coahoma, Copiah, Covington, DeSoto, Forrest, Franklin,
George, Greene, Grenada, Hancock, Harrison, Hinds, Holmes, Humphreys,
Issaquena, Itawamba, Jackson, Jasper, Jefferson, Jefferson Davis, Jones,
Kemper, Lafayette, Lamar, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Leake, Lee, Leflore,
Lincoln, Lowndes, Madison, Marion, Marshall, Monroe, Montgomery, Neshoba,
Newton, Noxubee, Oktibbeha, Panola, Pearl River, Perry, Pike
Pontotoc, Prentiss, Quitman, Rankin, Scott, Sharkey, Simpson, Smith, Stone,
Sunflower, Tallahatchie, Tate, Tippah, Tishomingo,
Tunica, Union, Walthall, Warren, Washington, Wayne, Webster, Wilkinson,
Winston, Yalobusha, Yazoo in the State of Mississippi.

And, as to such contracts to be performed in such jurisdictions, I do
hereby suspend, until otherwise provided, the provisions of any Executive
Order, proclamation, rule, regulation, or other directive providing for the
payment of wages, which provisions are dependent upon determinations by the
Secretary of Labor under section 3142 of title 40, United States Code;

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this eighth day of
September, in the year of our Lord two thousand five, and of the
Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirtieth.